Terrorists like al Qaeda targetting hotels now: US report

Terrorists are targetting hotels and other easier-to-hit places as security measures have been tightened in military installations and government premises after the 9/11 massacre.

In the eight-years after the tragedy over New York, attacks against hotels have more than doubled, as terrorists specially al Qaeda outfit finds them a soft target, a latest report by US think tank Stratfor has said.

The report said al Qaeda was changing from a highly centralised terrorist outfit with global targets to giving out regional franchises.

Stratfor said that these smaller cells were hard to detect and required less money and less training. "It does not mean that these smaller groups are less dangerous as they are ready to link up with bigger outfits to carry out sensational attacks."  Saying that the new dangerous trend among the terrorist outfits was to copy Mumbai-type attacks, Stratfor said these organisations were "seeking out soft targets".

The report titled "The Militant Threat to Hotels" was released by Stratfor, a global intelligence company.

The report said "Hotels are particularly popular targets for militant strikes as they can be struck by using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), vehicle-borne IEDs, armed attacks.

These groups were also moving towards carrying out kidnappings and assassinations, it said.

Stratfor said there were several security measures that can be taken to limit the damage caused by militant attacks on hotels or even prevent such attacks before they happen.

"Indeed, by striking an international hotel in a major city, militants can make the same kind of statement against the West as they can by striking an embassy. Hotels are often full of Western business travellers, diplomats and intelligence officers. This makes them target-rich environments," the report said.

"The relative success of the Mumbai operation and the dramatic news coverage it received (it captured the world’s attention for three days) mean that copycat attacks can be expected," it said.